28 years after the ground breaking first Tron movie, Legacy builds on that film’s premise, but not as much as it could have. As with the original, Legacy presents us with absolutely stunning visual design, and it all thumps along to a great soundtrack, this time by Daft Punk. What’s missing is the human connection. In the first Tron, programs looked like their creators, and video games played in our world had real consequences on the game grid for the programs forced to play them.

I understand this system was disconnected from the internet. That this was an isolated system created by Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and his digital doppelganger Clu. But I still think that connection was important to have. Knowing every character on the grid was a program written by a user was cool, and I was disappointed they mostly ignored that in the sequel.

There are a few other things that bugged me about this Tron adventure. I understood that the sequel needed to make references to the original. So it made sense to see some Light Cycles and Recognizers. But this story is set over two decades after the original and computer games technology has advanced considerably. It would have been nice to see our heroes battle on the grid in the style of a first person shooter, or martial arts fighting game. Have those games played on the grid while we cut back and forth between the game, and a kid using his Xbox or Playstation 3.

The other major problem with Legacy was the decision to create a young CGI Kevin Flynn and try to pass him off as another human character. I respected the effort, and it was certainly ambitious, but it just didn’t work. The face doesn’t move right at all, and every scene he/it was in just pulled me out of the story.

Movie Prep:

Like the original back in 1982. Tron Legacy is purely a visual experience accompanied by a great soundtrack. The visual effects and production design are quite frankly brilliant. But it doesn’t offer much more than that. If you liked the original I think you’ll appreciate this. If you’re looking for a little character and heart. You won’t find it here.

Best Format:

This is something that should be enjoyed on a huge theater screen. If this film was screened at the theater again I would certainly take in that show regardless of the issues I have with it. At home a HD viewing is a must.

Best scene for me: << mild Spoiler >>

Near the end of the film there is an awesome Light Jet battle. I’ve seen legacy three times, and this battle still blows me away. It’s just beautifully done.